Vodafone Group is looking again at a potential acquisition of German cable company Kabel Deutschland, a transaction that could be worth “at least $8.3 billion”, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The deal would enable Vodafone to bolster its fixed-line proposition, in order to offer bundled mobile, fixed, internet and TV services, improving its position against main rival Deutsche Telekom.

While Vodafone was linked with Kabel Deutschland earlier this year, in the meantime it signed a deal giving it access to the high-speed broadband network of Deutsche Telekom – a move which some observers thought would mean a deal with Kabel was less likely.

However, the WSJ noted that one source had said the DT deal does not fulfil Vodafone’s ambitions in Germany in the same way that an acquisition of Kabel Deutschland would.

The paper cautioned that one “person familiar with the situation” said that Vodafone had not made a final decision whether to bid or not.

Vodafone already has a fixed line unit in Germany, through its Arcor unit, but the infrastructure owned by this business is ageing, and unable to keep up with next-generation broadband deployments.